I also liked how there was no mention of losing Graham, Warren, and Brown on defense. Obviously RichRod has to say positive things to the media, and maybe I'm biased from my unbridled optimism, but he seems to genuinely believe our defense is going to be a lot better this year.

no matter what happens, Rich Rodriguez is and will always be one of my favorite coaches in college football. the guy is genuine and personable and even after how poorly he has been treated by the press, he's always very open to their questions.

although i hope it doesn't come to it, i will root for whatever team he coaches for in the future. (lets hope its U of M for many years to come)

Thanks for posting that audio RR does sound positive and I'm really glad he said that there is going to be more speed, and he sounded more positive about the Def. Can't wait to see some of the younger guys out there to get a look at some of the potential for the future and see how some of the Jrs and Seniors improved

One thing I really like is that he has always seemed to be pretty honest about where the team is. During the first year, I distinctly remember him saying things like "we have a lot of work to do." Last year, he also seemed to give mediocre reviews.

This is the first time HE has seemed excited about where the team is. This seems like the first time HE has said we are going to be much improved. At least, as I remember it.

This gives me hope. He has coached great teams, and I think he sees something happening in this team.

I've been listening to him all off-season, just for that reason. My memory is the same as yours. He is openly positive, something he wasn't willing to do the first two years. I know there are questions still, I know the defense isn't going to be this incredible stellar Michigan defense, I know we're still a young team. But all of this is mitigated A TON by listening to the change of tone in RR when he's talking to the media.

It was nice to hear RR treated well by someone interviewing him. I found the general tone to be a lot more positive than many interviews have been in the past: no ambushes, no Sparty sycophants, no "gloom and doom" questions. I agree with those here who think that he is finally confident that he has a team that can begin to execute the vision he had for Michigan when he first took the job.

Funny: it's the beginning of a new season, but in a way, it looks like it will finally be the beginning of what we have been awaiting since December of 2007, or at least January of 2008.

is how affable Coach Rodriguez is, even with a pair of complete doofuses (doofi?) like these two guys.

I believe two things at once:

1. Coach Rodriguez is a genuinely nice guy, but that he is a guy who does not suffer fools gladly, and;

2. In this case, he was really working at being nice to these guys. He was, essentially, "suffering these two fools, gladly."

He has to know about the kind of shit that WDFN talk-programs feature on him, all the time. He simply must take the view that, "This is part of my job, this is a Michigan network station, and I'm going to do this the best that I can."

"There's gonna be a lot of fast guys runnin' around out there"- That made me giddy. I love how confident and at ease RR sounds about the players and this upcoming season. I think Revenge Tour is a very appropriate title. I almost feel for UConn. Those poor bastards don't know what they're in store for.

"It's the only place to get the inside story on Wolverine football, so blee bluhh tahh!" - Bo

Thanks for posting this. Always amazed and impressed by how gracious and classy RR is with the media after all that has happened. That will serve him well when success comes in waves this fall. He has refused to sink to the level of his enemies.

I for one am proud he is our coach. He has shown to be a Michigan man through and through.

It's interesting that some people continue to push the absolute, 100% pure, virgin-quality bullshit that RR has some sort of unspecified difficulty in relating to sports journalists. You cannot find a more relentlessly personable, friendly, and approachable coach, which is amazing considering the situation he's in. He acknowledges his tenuous situation, but doesn't dwell on it and doesn't whine about it, and in fact openly accepts the inevitablity of questions being asked about his status without complaint. I think he's experienced enough in dealing with the media to know that he just can't win a pissing match with guys who have a microphone or tape recorder in their hands anyhow.

I didn't find anything objectionable at all in the questions and attitude of the WDFN guys, FWIW. Seemed pretty straightforward to me, and one of them made it clear he was a big UM fan to boot.